Hot-blast valve.



w, mAfr'ra'ismsz 'HOTSBLAST VALVE. mmcmou FILED saw. 9. 1915.

Patented June 5, 1917 2 SHEETS-SHEET- I.

w. MATHESIUSL HOT BLAST VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1916.

Patented June 5, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ALTHEW, MAEHESIUS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HGT-BLAST VALVE.

, messes.

To all whom may concern:

, Be it known that I, -l"owl-nun ll lu'rii'nsrcs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of; Cool; and dilute 01" Illinois, lmveinvluited certain new mid useful ln'iprm'ements in llotll est Valves of the (late Type, particularly those of larger dimensions, such as are used in and. air comluits, and especially the watercooled variety used in connection with hotblast mains at metallurgical :turnaccs.

In connection with hot blast stoves at blast furnaces, valves of this type have been uscd in various countries. in most their use was discontinued, due to incl 'litv to overcome certain deficiencies in construo tion'as well as in operation. which cut Weighed the ncltnowlec ed superiority in principle of this type of vulvc over other dcsigns, especially over the mushroom style valve which is commonly used at hot blast stoves of blast furnaces.

I have by my invention overcome the shove mentioned deficiencies of. the gate.

valveand have developed it new and. superior type of valve, which forms the subject matter of my invention, The following is a detailed description of the some.

Hcrctoiforo valves of this type have been inserted in the gasor air conduits by means i of flanged joints, the valve being held be tween straight flanges by screw-Wilts or other suitable means of 'lastening. Where hot gases had to be conveyed through valves installed in tliismanneras for instance, at hot blast. stoves of blast furnaces, it was soon found to be impossible to maintain the respective joints without prohibitive airlealcage. This was due to the tact'that the valve body as well the hot blast main and conmeeting" bolts, being heated and cooled in alternating periods; would expand and contract periodically, resulting in a loosening of the'llangcrl joints. Such leaks, although small at first, would gradually grow worse onaccount of the cutting effect of the hot blashsnrl soon become prohibitive, neccssitoting the replacing of the valve and tcnsive repairs to the flange surfaces.

'1 overcome this difficulty by designing such gate valves so to allow the flange p faces tohc protected by a tongue and groove joint, in which an elastic packing linsertccl. .ltns, l accomplish oy making the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed, September 9, 1918. Serial Trio. 11%),"273.

distance between the flanges of the hot blast conduit somewhat greater than the width of the valve body to he installed between these flanges, and by supporting or suspending the hot blast main in such it way as to allow of a certain movement. This permits of first puttin the valve in place. and. inserting the ridge on the male part of the flung ed joint into the groove of the other part containing the elastic packing. By then, tightening up the screw bolts, or other means of fastening, the joints are pulled together and a. perfectly tight seal is eiicctcd, which may he subjected to the above mentioned alternate heating and cooling without becoming loose and leaky.

The ides ofinserting an elastic packing in a, grooved joint, in order to permanently orcvcnt lealzo e has also been anlicd to other parts of the gate valve and in this conncction forms a part of my invention. Palticulurly I refer here to the method employed in inserting the valve seats into the valve body which combines with simplicity the certainty of a, perfect olinenient of the seats, and pernmnently prevents any leakage around the outer circumference of the latter.

Another important improvement which I claim as a par-tel my invention is the d e vclopinent of a. new method for obtaining a. perfect and lasting seal between the valve and the seats. The inmortuncc of this feels ture, particularly for the conveyance of hot gases under pressure wili'be readily under. stood considering the above mentioned cutting effect of the gases, which of course, is

particularly severe on comparatively soft metal, such as the bronze used in the manufacture of those valves and seats.

Heretolorc two different methods have been employed for the alincnient of such valves. One of those consists of installing a. valve of unilormwidth ainl'with seating sur faces 'uarslleling each other, between two parallel seats having an exactly uniform distance between them. The width of the valve is slightly less than the distance between the seats, to insure ease of operation, and the air or gas pressure against the valve in its closed position is depended 'uponior holding the" valve against the seat and overcoming the resistance of the valve stem, which must be bent in order to allow the valve to properly seat itself. Elie deficiency of this 'the seats,

getting wedg method lies obviously in its dependence for tightness upon the pressure of the conveyed medium, and it is evidentlthat if this ressure is lowered to a certain degree, lea age .must occur.

The other method conslsts of inserting a.

tween the seats being only slightly larger than the thickness end. By virtue of of the valve at.the stem the valve taperthe clearance between the valve and seats becon es greater toward the opposite end of thevalve; this allows of a certain-lateral movement of the valve hanging on the stem vor stems and swingingin-an arc ofwhich the packing land of such stem or stems is the center.

he mean distance between the valve :and as well as 'the taper of the. valv e, is calculated with reference to the radius of the-movement, so as to bring one of the valve vffaces' into complete contact with its seat as scenes the valve engages contact is madeuniformly and simultane- This pressure is with the .center planeof the straight thread, and y providing astrai surface f0] saiduflange on the va ve. Inten-" ously over the'entire valve seat. It is evident that with this arrangement absolute ease of operation is insured and aperfect seal be-. tween -the"val ve and either one'of the seats is a ver slight diiferential pres'sure being sufficient to accomplish the necessary movement of he valve against the seat. far less than in the case ofvalves with' parallel faces, asl'my' valveswings freely from the center of movement,

and no distortion of the stem occurs n fact, no strain is exerted whatsoever,; in

bringing the valve to its seat. I

it is essential with As can readily be seen, an arrangement of the valve stem or stems in kind to have the perfect alinement' valve. Present. the stems into such by means of a pipe methods of fastening. valves, for instance,

thread, or perhaps with the aid of a lock-nut,

are deficient in this respect. Where a single stem is used they entail another difiicu'lty 1nasmuch as they offer little insurance against accidental loosening 'of the threaded joint. I have overcomeboththese difii'cultiesby equipping the end of the stem with a an e immediately abpve'the screw ht seating tionally the thread is cut rather loosely, so as to allow 'ot a certain lateral movement 'can easily against accidental loosening of free when opened.

the seat, and this through a gate considerably exaggerated.

:5, an intermediate of the stem before beigg screwed tight. In

assembling, two taper gaskets may be 'mserted between the flange of the valve stem andthe seating face or the same on the valve. By turning one of'these gaskets against the other any desired ad ustment within the play allowed by the screw thread be accomplished. Insurance the valve stems, in case two separate stems are employed, may be provided by locking the stems together through a yoke-at theiopposite end of said stems. "1

Where these valves are employed in pipe lines conveying gases which contain a con-'. it becomes siderable amount of solid matter, necessary to, from time to time, remove' ac cumulations of such matter from the lowest oint of the space between the valve seats, in-order to safeguard against operating difliculties. This is done by opening a clean ing hole' provided at this point; if the pressure within is suiiicient the dirt accumula tion is quickly blownrout. It is evident that this method of cleaning exposes the outer edge of the cleaning opening and the means for closing the same (either an ordinary gate valve or a cone-shaped plug held in place by a lever with counterweight) to the full'force of the cutting effect of this-blast, which-in time will'invariably lead to leakage and necessitate the replacing of the valve, or, a tedious re-facing of the seating surfaces, as, the case might be. In my inventionI overcome. these difficulties by roviding a bushing for this cleaning hdle, preferably of bronze, held'in place by means of a thread or otherwise; a cone-shaped plug is seated against this bushing, insuring a perfect fit and allowin -of quick and inexpensive replacement 0 all parts exposed to extraordina ily' wear. v. I

0 enable those skilled in the art to more clearly understand my invention, attention is directed to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a "vertical sectional view valve constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 .is a transverse vertical sectional view taken at right angles to that of Fig. 1;

gas main and bustle pipe connecting the stove with the gas main and showing a valve of my invention inserted in the elbow;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 arediagrammatic views 12oshowing different positions of the'valve-withrelation, to its seat,"-'the dimensions The valve ca'slng comprises a portion: 5 and .alower intermediate portion 5P, is

,ltmal and horizontal portion 5. The provided with vertical nd horizontal"- portion {flanges 6 and 7,"and the'lower ortientais I I provided with flanges 8 and 9. The horizontal? 186- Fig. 3 1s a planview of shot blast stove,

i aaenes and 9 are adapted to be joined tor the'pur pose of fastening the-lower to the intermediate portion of the casing. Top member 5 of the casing is attached to the intermediate member 5P, in" any well known manner. I

- have shown-it as fastened with a tongue and groove construction at all points. The hollow 'disk' valve ii. is circular in contour and tapered in vertical transverse section as is best shown in Fig. i. As a valve stem l prefer to use two pipes 1'2 and 13, extending Exteriorly' of the casing 5,1 prefer to employ a yoke 15 connecting the pipes 12 and 13 to prevent their twisting. To this yolre I fasten an eye bolt 16, to which the raising and lowering means may be fastened. The ends of pi es l2 and 13 may be connected to. i

any availa 1e source of water supply. "With- 111 the interior of the valve 11 ll prefer to use a series of vertically extending battles 11, forthe purpose of enforcing circulation and stiffening of the valve.

For valve seat members ll prefer to employ a pair of annular members 1'1" and 18, best seen in Fig. 2, vertically positioned within the casing members. The distance between the faces of the seat members 17 and 18 is the same at all points. The thickness of the valve 11 at the stem portion 19 is slightly less than the distance between the faces-ofthe seat members 17 and 18, while the lower end 20 is thinner than the stem. portion 19, the reasons for which will be more fully en. plained later on. The valve 11 is suspended by the pipes 12 and 13 as a stern so that it may swing from the gland 14. Because of the fact that the thickness of the valve 11 is less than the distances between the seat members 17 andlS a slight swinging of the valve is permitted. When there is no gas passing through the mains, the valve 11 will hang in a-perpendicular position out of engagement with either seat member 17 or'-l 8. Valves of this type used in a hot gas main rely for their closing on the'pressure ofthe gas against the valve. The taper oi the sides": is such that when the valve' of the valve 11 1'! is swung against either member 17 or 18, a crfect and complete seal between the valve and seat against which it is forced will be made. It is understood that the taper of the valve will have to vary with the distance from the gland 14: to the connection between the valve 11 and the stems 19 13. illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 4 to .6 inclusive.

By providing a straight seat and a downwardly tapered valve, it will e seen that by This is establishing a definite ratio between the amount of taper and the arc of rotation the valve will. have a theoretical line contact only at all points except the fully closed position and that in that position the contact ill be complete, The extent of taper of the valve must correspond to the increase in extent of rotation of the valve due to its greater distance from the center of rotation in this instance the gland ii. in Fig.

4i the val e is shown in raised position, and it would at first sight seem impossible that a tapered valve could cooperate with a straight seat. Fig. 5 showsan intermediate position and even with the cmn crated dimensions does not correctly illust rte the on act condition due to the inability to make the lines suiiiciently line. Suil'icicnt to say. however. the surfaces of valve and seat have only a line contact. in Fig. (3 the valve is shown :tully seated by the pressure of gas behind it, the valve having swung sufficiently to bring its face into a vertical position. coin.- oidentally with its contact with the it is of course essential that the valve be carefully adjusted with relation to its and seat and this cannot be done hyany of the means heretofore proposed. i prefer to provide each oi llllfifSlZQIfIlS with a straight flange 35, immediately above the screw threaded end thereof. intentumaliy the thread is out rather looselyin the ccnnection between the stems and the valve, so as to allow of a certain lateral lllOl tlll'ifillb Ui the stems. in assembling the parts two tapered gaskets 36, 37, may be inserted between the iiange and the valve. By turn ing or Washers relatively any de sired adjustment may be secured within the play allowed by the loose thread.

To overcome the distorting of the flanges of the valve casing and also of the mains due to the decided differences in temperature between the main and valve, Iprovid'c in ti o faces of the flanges of the valve casing,

recesses 21 and in the flanges in the gas mains similarly positioned and shaped projectiotfs lln horizontal flanges 'Z' and 9 of the cats-- ing 1 have provided similar grooves 23 and tongues 24. I have discovered that if I in- It must be kept in mind that the mains used in such an apparatus are oi great size, those'in general use being about six feet in diameter, so that the loss due to distortion of the flanges of a gate valve of size neces sary tobe used in such a. sized pipe is of great importance and any mprovcnient that i the casing sired to empty by which 1 the use of a gate valve invention connected into a gas main having the elastic material between the several flange joints gives excellent service and does not have to be replaced because of faulty flange connections.

The gases which are conveyed through mains of this sort. carry considerable amount of solid matter. In the course of time this matter becomes deposited in'the lowerpart of the valve casing, usually between the scat' members 17 and 18, so that it is necessary to provide means to rid the casing of this solid matter. To accomplish this I provide an opening in the lower part of between the seat members 17 and 18, and at the outer end of this opening 26 insert a bushing 27. This bushing .may be of bronze or any material suitable for such purpose. It has been found that when solid matter is blown from the valve casing that there is considerable wear on the blow hole. By use of the bushing 27, I overcome the wearing effects of the solid matter on the blow hole26, thereby prolonging the life of the casing. Whenever a'bushing 27 is worn out it maybe replaced with another. In the opening in hole 26 I employ a cone-shaped plug 28, secured to the end of arm 29, which is pivoted to the casing member by the connection 30. At the outer end of the arm 29 there is a counterweight 31 slidably mount ed on the arm. This counterweight serves to hold the stopper 28 against bushing 27, thereby closing the hole 26. When it is de-.

the solid matter that has accumulated within the casing the stopper 28 is drawn away from the hole and the pressure of the gas within the casing is sutiicient to blow out whatever solid matter may have become deposited therein.

Referring now to Fig. 3: Numeral 39MB.- dicates a hot blast stove, connected through pipe 32 with main 33. Installed in the pipe 32 is the valve embodying my,- invention, which is designated by the numeral 34. The mounted by means (not shown) so lateral -moval of the valve 34. when it is so desired.

It is understood that have chosen to show my inventhe only form of the invention.

that to accommodate the valve embodying my invention to, pipes. of different sizes and shapes it necessary to vary to some extent, an consequently the taper of the valve proper. It w ll be understood thatfwhile I have described the.

tion is not It 1s obvious valve as tapered and the seats as parallel,

such construction might be reversed without departure from the spirit of my 1nvent1on.

feet or more in diameterv 1s of described. 3. In a gate valve "for hot blast mains,

' to permit one 'tudinal axis of the pipe I I claim '3 La valvecasin of a pair of vertically posiel annular seat members m tioned paral a disk v'alve for engagement spaced relation,

between said seat members, said valve being of wedge shape in vertical transverse sec- 7 tion and a stem supporting said valve, said valve being mounted for swinging movemen't from its point of support to .alternately engage said seats when m fully closed positlon, substantially as described.

2. In a gate valve, the combination of a pair of annular parallel valve seats, a valve for cooperation therewith, a stem supporting the valve through the casing whereby the valve is permitted to swing between the seat members with the point of support as a center, the valve being tapered so as to engage every portion of either seat member when swung thereagainst, substantially as the combination with a'valve casing a pair of vertically mounted parallel annular seat members, the "seat members being in spaced.

a valve proper, a valve stem atrelation and extending through tached to said valve,

. said valve casing, said valve stem bei'ng supulum at the'point where through the valve castapered in vertical taper being such as ported as a pend the valve'stem passes ing, said valve being transverse section, he

against one of .the seat members to be in contact therewith, substantially as described.

4. In a gate valve, a casing having a valve seat arranged perpendicular to the longiwithin which the valve is located, a valve having a cooperating face arranged out of parallelism with the operating stem, said valve being mounta ed for limited swingingmovemen't from the of entrance of the stem to the casing,

point shaped as to be in the valve face being so side of the valve whenswung I parallelism with said seat only when fully closed, substantially as described.-

5. In agate valve, a casing, a valve mounted in .said casing and adapted for limited swinging movement from the point of entrance-of the valve stem to the casing, said casing seats, a valve, the faces on opposite sides of which converge toward the end of the valve,

the relation between the taper of the valve of swinging movement thereand the extent of-being such that either face of the valve is'parallel with its coiiperating seat when 'the valve is in tact with the seat,-substantially as described. 6. In a valve, a casing, a valve having a being provided with parallel closed position and in constem and adapted for swinging movement I in the casing, the cooperating faces of the casing and seat being out of parallelism in open positions pf the valve, and mezms'in the position of the valve relative to the the connection between the valve end stem stem, substantially as described. 10 for adjusting the position of the valve, sub- Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 17th clay .stentially as described. of August, 1916. #53 7. ,4 e .gates valve, a casing, 21 valve, 21 VVALTHER MATHESIUS.

stem loesely-tlireeded into said. valve, and Witnesses: a tapered Washer in the eonneetion between D. V. MEDALLE, the stem and valve and saying" to adjust Gus LERMAN. 

